Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1887-10-10


here few choice cases, and | am busv
keeping off the flies" There are mul-
titudes to day who have never had any
Christian worker look them in the eye, and
with earnestness in the accentuation, say,
Come" or they would long ago have
been in the kingdom. Ny friends, reli-
gion Is either a sham or tremendous
reality. If it be sham, let us disband
ouI churches and Christian association.
II It be a reality, then great populations
are on the way to the bar of God untitled
for the ordeal, and what are We doing?
In order to reach the multitude of out
siders We must drop all technicalities ont
of our religion. When we talk To people
about the hypostatic union and French
Encyclopedianism, and Erastiniauism, and
ComPlutensianism, weare as impOlitic and
little understood rs if physician should
talk to an ordinary patient about the per
icardium, and intercOstal muscle, and
scorbutic symptoms. Many of us come
out of the theological seminaries so loaded
up that we take the first ten years to show
our people how much we know, and the
next ten years get our people TO know as
much as we know, and at the end find that
neither of us know anything as
WE OUGHT TO KNOW.
Here are hundreds and thousands of sim
ming, struggling and dying people who
need 10 realize Just one thing-that Jesus
Christ came to save them, and will save
them now. But We 20 into profound and
elaborate definition Of what justification
is, and after all the work there are not,
outside of the learned professions, five
thousand people in the United States who
can tell what justification is. / will read
you the definition:
classification is purely q forensic act,
the act of Judge sitting in the forum, in
which the Supreme Ruler and Judge, who
is accountable to none, and who alone
knows the manner in which the ends OF
His universal government can best be oh
tanned, reckons that which was done by
the substitute in the same manner rs if il
had been done by those who believe i'll the
substitute, and not on account of any thing
done by them, but purely upon account OF
this gracious method of reckoning, grants
them the full remission of their sins -
Now, what is justification? l will tell
you what justification is-when sinner
believes, God let's him OIL, One summer
in Conn. Ctcut ! went to large factory,
and saw over the door written the words:
"NO Admittance." | entered and saw over
the next door: "NO Admittance." Oh
course | entered got inside and found
it pin factory, and they were making
pins, very serviceable, fine and useful pins.
So the spirit of eXCluSivcnesS has practi-
cally written over the outside door of many
church: "No AdmittanCe." And if the
stranger enters he finds practically written
over the second door: mo Admittance," "
and if he goes in, over all the pew doors
seems written: "No Admittance, while
the minister stands in the pulpit, hammer,
ing out his little
NICETIES OF BELIEF,
pounding ont the teChniCalities of religion,
making pins. In the most practisal COM
mon sense way, and laying aside the non
essentials and the hard definitions ofreli.
gion, 20 ont OH the God-given mission,
| telling the people what they need and
when and how they can get it,
Comparatively little effort rs yet has
been made to save that large class OF per
sons i'll our midst called skcptics, and be
who gOes To work here will not be huiid
| ing up another mans foundation There
| is a great multitude OF them. They are
afraid OF us and our churches, for the
reason we don't how TO treat them. One
of this class met Christ, and hear with
what tenderness, and pathos, and beauty,
and success Christ dealt with him: "rhOu
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy
heart, and with all thy sOul, and will
all thy mind and with all thy
strength. This is the first com
mandment, and the second is like
to this; namely, thou shalt love thy neigh
bOr as thyself. There is no other com
mandment greater than this" And the
scribe said to him: "Well, master, thor
hast said the truth, for there is one God
and to love him with all the heart, and al
the understanding, and all the sOul, anC
all the strength is more than whole burnt
offerings and sacrifices" And when Jesus
saw that he answered disCreetly, he saC
unto him: Thou art not far from The
Kingdom of God" SO a skeptiC was saved
in one interview. Bat few Christian peo
pie treat the skeptic in that way. Instead
of taking hold of him with the gentl,
hand of love, we are apt TO take him will
the IRON piucers OF ecclesiastiCism.
YOu would not be 40 rough on that MAJ
if you knew by what process he had los
his faith in Christianity. | have know
men skeptical from the fact that they grew
up in houses where religion was Overdone
Sunday
WAS THE MOST AWFUL DAY
of the week. They had religion driven in
to them with q trip-hammer. They wer
surfeited with prayer meetings. The!
were stuffed aud chOkcd with CateChisms
They were often told they were the wOrs
bows the parents ever knew, because the!
liked TO ride down hill hetter than TO reaC
Bunyan's Pilgrims Progress Wheneve
father and mother talked of religion the.
drew down the corners of their mouth ant
rolled up their eyes. II any one thing vii
send a boy or girl To perdition sooner thai
another that is it. II | had had such
father and mother | fear ! should hav
been an intdel.
Others were tripped up OF skepticisn
from being griev0usIy wronged by som
man who professed to be a Christian
They had partner in business who turnet
out 10 he first-class scOundrel, though
! professed Christian. twenty years az
they lost all faith by what happene'
in an oil company which wa
formed amid the petroleum excitement Th
company owned no land, or if they did
there was no sign of oil produced; but tn
President of the company was Presbyte
rian elder, and the Treasurer was an Epis
copal vestryman, and one director was
Methodist class leader, and the other diret
tors prominent members of Baptist an
Congregational churches. Circulars wer
gotten out telling what fabulous prospect
opened before this company. Innocen
men and women who had little none
to invest, and that little their all, said; g
don't know anything about this company
but so many good men are at the head
it that it must be excellent, and takiD
stock in it must be almost As good as lolr
ing the church" So they bought tn
stock, and perhaps received one dividen
: so as to keep them still, but after a Will